The ophthalmologist Luis Fernández-Vega, responsible this Saturday for the cataract operation on the left eye of King Felipe VI at the Fernández-Vega Ophthalmological Institute in Oviedo, has stated that the surgery was "perfect" and that the recovery will be swift, given that the Monarch will only need to apply "a few drops for a few days" and avoid physical exertion.
The specialist explained this in statements to the 24 Horas channel of RTVE, reported by Europa Press, just a few minutes after Felipe VI left the ophthalmological clinic on his own, protected by sunglasses.
The King left the medical center with dark glasses and, after greeting the journalists positioned at the doors of the institute, got into a vehicle to head back to Madrid.
The doctor detailed that the intervention, lasting about 30 minutes, proceeded in a "routine" manner and that the Head of State was very satisfied with the result. "We did it yesterday afternoon-evening, as a consequence of having had the Pueblo Ejemplar event. Since we finished late, he stayed to sleep here so as not to go to a hotel," he pointed out.
According to Fernández-Vega, the evolution will be rapid and the monarch will be able to maintain his institutional agenda in the coming days because "there is nothing to prevent him." "He will wear sunglasses for protection and to remind him that he is freshly operated but nothing more. His vision will improve," he indicated.
The ophthalmologist specified that the postoperative care is based on administering drops for a few days and avoiding physical exertion. When questioned about whether it is common to suffer from cataracts at 58 years old, he commented that, although they are more common at older ages, it is normal to operate on patients around 60 years old.
"Every week we operate on quite a few cataracts of people around 60 years old. So it is not an uncommon thing," he emphasized.
Finally, Fernández-Vega confirmed that the clinic had previously treated other members of the Royal Family. He mentioned, among others, Doña María, the King's grandmother, who was operated on about 30 years ago, as well as some of the monarch's sisters and other relatives.